My SLR

[morison29]

Hello all
At last I picked up my L1A1 from the dealer last week and shot it for the first time yesterday. This is an ex war reserve example I believe and is in pretty much as new condition which isn't bad as it is the same age as me, 1958 Enfield body. It functions perfectly and grouped well except that case neck was slightly distorted on every round and also the hold open didn't function on last round. The magazine is a brand new metric FAL example, could this be the problem? When I bought the rifle I also bought a 1944 vintage Remington M1911A1 which also shoots very well.
The pics are not very good. I shall try and do some better ones if anyone is interested.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[Peter Laidler]

The spent round spins back on itself when it is ejected and hits the rear of the body, hence the ding in the case. It ells me that you have the gas regulator far too closed, too much gas and violent ejection.

On the British L1A1's the holding open device (the HOD) is a manual operation and doesn't operate when the magazine is empty. To be really honest, HOD's are a a bag of trouble right from the start. If I was even more honest, I can tell you that when you are using a rifle or an SMG for real - and I mean for REAL - , then you don't need a HOD. As soon as you hear that hollow metallic ring of the bolt closing on an empty chamber you just KNOW that you need to do a mag change PDQ. Drills kick in and it happens, as fast as light. And something else........... it doesn't matter how much noise is going on around you, you'll ALWAYS he that metallic ring

[morison29]

Thanks for the info I will try again on Saturday.
Its on number six at the moment. To be honest I've forgotten what setting it should be on. I also forgot that the hold open is only manual. It has been 30 years plus since I last used one and I haven't touched one since.

[Daan Kemp]

Adjust the gas regulator until the case drops about a metre from the rifle and cycles dependably.

[mrclark303]

A 1958 matching Enfield, very nice indeed!

[Brian Dick]

Gas setting 5 or 6 is usually the norm using Nato spec ball ammunition.

[Gil Boyd]

Nothing like the sound of the working parts hitting metal when a magazine is empty. As said...they never made a HOD, only a manual one so you could pull the working parts to the rear and use the real HOD for that purpose.

The start of the text above sounded like "Nothing like the smell of napalm in the morning" from Apocalypse Now

[Peter Laidler]

In the far east, we occasionally used to shoot them without shirts, just our skeleton-order webbing - especially if zeroing or range testing them. If there were a few of us on the ranges you would set the gas so that the spent case would flick over to the right and lodge under the next blokes belly or chest. That made them jump up and down like a frog on fire!

[browningautorifle]

made them jump up and down like a frog on fire!

I had a guy take a fresh fired blank round down the back of his neck in winter kit in the field one snowy day. He went down like he was shot...

[mrclark303]

I've had a spent case down the back of my shirt, feels like you've been hit with the branding iron!

And they say I can't dance, I sure did that day!